'Windworks' by Merel Karhof

12 - 19 May '13

Windworks, the latest project of Merel Karhof, just opened last week on the Dutch National Mill Day at the well-known and typical area of the Zaanse Schans, in the north-west of the Netherlands.

Unique to this project is that the materials (dyes, fabrics and wood) are all created at the Zaanse Schans and all use a free and inexhaustible energy source; the wind.

Visit Windworks until 19 May at colour mill ‘De Kat’, and experience how windmills that are working together can turn into a complete production process.

Windworks can be seen as an urban factory, using wind as its main source of energy. According to Merel Karhof there is an important element missing in the discussion around free sources of energy as she explains the idea behind her project as follows: ‘’Everyone is talking about green energy, but nobody knows what that means, how much wind energy do you need to make a scarf? In this project I have visualised the wind, and what it can produce.”

A variety of little colourfull pillows form the upholstery of the stools, chairs and benches. Each size of the pillow represents the amount of time needed by the wind to make it, thus giving insight into length of the production process.

The pillows are made from the knitted wool created by the Wind Knitting Factory (designed by Merel Karhof herself), and are then felted and stuffed to make solid and comfortable upholstery. The yarns of the knitted fabric are coloured by natural pigments ground by colour mill ‘De Kat’.
The wood of the furniture where this upholstery is integrated into, is sawn at saw-mill ‘Het Jonge Schaap’.

Wind Knitting Factory at Zaanse Schans

Explanatory diagram of Windworks

Left sketches for the presentation. Right colour and knitting samples of upholstery

Samples for the uphostery of the Windworks furniture

Windworks at the Zaanse Schans

Windworks furniture

Detail of Wind Knitting Factory